Industrial projects help 210,000 shake off poverty in Tibet

LHASA - A total of 210,000 people have been lifted out of poverty through industrial development projects in the past three years in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region.

The regional poverty alleviation and development office said from 2016 to 2018 Tibet has poured nearly 29 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) to develop 2,263 industrial projects, aiming to help impoverished people shake off poverty through stimulating development in rural areas and boosting their income.

So far, 1,493 projects have been completed and around 210,000 people who have involved in the projects have been lifted out of poverty, according to the office.

By the end of 2015, Tibet reported 590,000 people living in poverty, while over 40 percent of them were planned to be lifted out of poverty by industrial development.

Poverty relief industrial projects cover farming, breeding, processing, trade and logistics, cultural tourism and resource exploitation.

Tibet achieved decisive progress in poverty relief in 2018, with 180,000 people lifted out of poverty. The region vowed to lift 150,000 people out of poverty and eradicate absolute poverty this year.

To achieve the goal, the region pledged to further promote the development of relative industries and create more jobs for locals.